A confocal laser scanning microscope for innovative research in animals, plants, and food science

我们正在申请资金购买一台共焦激光扫描显微镜，这将对一个由国际知名的团队领导的多学科研究项目产生巨大的好处。这项提案的所有申请者(6人)和合作者(5人)正在进行动物、植物和食品科学领域的研究。这些研究人员的一些主要调查领域将调查：牛肠道微生物区系的生物多样性和生物功能；牛和猪复杂性状的宿主调控基因和蛋白质标记；猪肠道微生物组的未消化残留物的组成；仔猪肠道组织中细菌种群的元基因组分析；生物活性多肽在细胞和动物组织中的作用机制；植物昆虫和植物真菌之间的相互作用以实现最佳管理策略；以及肌肉和脂肪组织与癌症相关的肌肉和脂肪组织的特点。对于所有这些基于发现和应用的研究项目，使用共聚焦激光扫描显微镜的直接可视化和成像方法是一个基本要求。这种显微镜的问世将促进在农业生产、食品质量、牛肉、乳制品和养猪业的动物和人类健康、植物的基于知识的疾病管理、开发用于生物医学应用的功能性食品配料和生物材料等领域具有重大影响的研究和创新。该设备将存放在农业、食品和营养科学部的多用户核心基因组学设施中，该设施在过去10年中为750多名高素质人员提供了基因组学和其他相关仪器方面的培训。目前，研究生、本科生、暑期学生、博士后研究员、研究助理和技术专家使用这一设施，接受培训，并将这些高通量基因组学和分子技术整合到他们的研究项目中。由共焦显微镜推动的工作将在推进申请者和合作者关于这一提议的目前得到资助的研究项目方面发挥重要作用，并将促进新的伙伴关系。此外，共聚焦显微镜的可获得性对于提高我们在农业发现和创新方面的知识以及为工业界和学术界培养高素质的人才至关重要。

We are requesting funds to acquire a confocal laser scanning microscope, which will be of immense benefit to a team of internationally reputed team leaders in their multidisciplinary research programs. All the applicants (6) and collaborators (5) on this proposal are conducting research in the areas of animal, plant, and food science. Some of the major areas of investigation by these researchers are to investigate: the biodiversity and biofunctions of bovine gut microflora; host regulatory gene and protein markers in complex traits in cattle and swine; composition of undigested residue in relation to gut microbiome in swine; metagenomic analysis of bacterial populations in intestinal tissues in piglets; the mechanisms of action of bioactive peptides in cells and animal tissues; plant insect and plant-fungal interactions for best management strategies; and characteristics of muscle and adipose tissue related to cancer-associated myosteatosis. For all of these discovery-based and applied research projects; direct visualization and imaging method using confocal laser scanning microscope is a fundamental requirement. Availability of this microscope will promote research and innovations with a major impact in the areas of agricultural production, food quality, animal and human health in beef, dairy and swine industries, knowledge-based disease management in plants, develop functional food ingredients and biomaterials for biomedical applications. This equipment will be housed in a multi-user core genomics facility in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, which has provided training to over 750 highly qualified personnel in the last 10 years on genomics and other related instrumentation. Currently, graduate, undergraduate, summer students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates and technologists use this facility, receive training and integrate these high-throughput genomics and molecular technologies in their research projects. The work to be facilitated by the confocal microscope will play an important role in the advancement of the currently funded research projects of the applicants and collaborators on this proposal and will promote new partnerships. Furthermore, the availability of the confocal microscope will be critical for advancement of our knowledge for agricultural discovery and innovation and prepare highly qualified personnel for industry and academia.